Arsonist Sought in 6 Fires Along Highway

The search continued Monday for a serial arsonist suspected of setting six small blazes in fire-vulnerable terrain along a 13-mile stretch of Ortega Highway in South County, officials said.

Investigators said the same mystery man set five fires on Friday and a sixth on Sunday. In two incidents, witnesses reported seeing the man in the act of lighting the blazes, said Capt. Scott Brown of the Orange County Fire Authority.

The fires were each put down quickly and with no property damage or injuries, Brown said. The damage at the fire sites ranged from about 15 square feet to about an eighth of an acre Sunday, he said.

Witnesses reported seeing a white man about 6 feet tall, in his 30s, driving a white or gray four-door sedan, possibly a Camry or Chevrolet sedan, officials said. On Sunday, he was seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.

“We are confident we have one person lighting these fires,” Brown said.

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The arsonist, Brown said, was seen parking in emergency turnouts along the highway, which winds east from San Juan Capistrano, past Ronald W. Caspers Wilderness Park, to Lake Elsinore. The remote unincorporated area is especially vulnerable because of its dry brush and scrub and inaccessibility.

The man used an unknown device to ignite the brush, but no evidence was found near the scene, investigators said.

Orange County Deputy Dist. Atty. Mike Fell, who specializes in arson cases, said investigators will look for connections between the spate of Ortega blazes and the 1993 Laguna Beach firestorm, which destroyed or damaged 441 homes and remains unsolved.

Fell said investigators are reviewing the Laguna fire and a long list of other unsolved arsons for connections, a routine investigative step.

“It’s way early to tell something like that,” Fell said.

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A recent series of 13 fires in Fresno and Tulare counties is also being examined for connection to the Ortega Highway blazes, although there are no solid links, Brown said.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and the U.S. Forest Service have joined the search for the arsonist, the latter agency because one of the fires was in the Cleveland National Forest, Brown said.

Officials are asking anyone who sees the arsonist not to confront him, but to instead observe his actions and immediately contact authorities.

Brown said anyone with information should call the Orange County Fire Authority at (714) 744-0507.